Automatically threading loom shuttle



Nov. 17, 1953 w, MCHARGUE 2,659,395

AUTOMATICALLY THREADING LOOM SHUTTLE Filed April l0, 1951 Erg l.

9 12 4x llgg/ @l5l m722130 ll'll 4o I9 \\\\l\\\\ 4l] -1NVENTOR WILLIAM' l.. MCHARGUE ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 17, 1953 AUTOMATICALLY THREADING LOOM SHUTTLE William L. McHargue, Fairfax, Ala., assignor to West Point Manufacturing Company, Shawmut, Ala., a corporation of Alabama Application April 10, 1951, Serial N0. 220,264.-

4 Claims.

This invention relates to shuttles for use in weft replenishing looms and relates more particularly to a selfthreading shuttle having an improved eye block construction.

Self-threading shuttles are well known in the art, and many different threading blocks or eye blocks, as they are sometimes referred to, have been developed for use with such shuttles to provide a threading block which accomplishes easy threading and, at the same time, does not allow the iilling thread to become unthreaded from the threading eye until the bobbin of thread is used up and the empty bobbin has been discharged from its position within the shuttle.

One of the defects in threading eye blocks of the prior art resides in the fact that the filling thread often becomes displaced from its passageway within the threading eye, which often causes the premature discharge of the bobbin from the shuttle prior to the iilling thread therein being exhausted.

Some of the improved threading blocks developed for use with the self-threading type shuttle have been fairly successful in overcoming the above mentioned problems, but most of these have been complicated and costly to manufacture, or for other reasons have not proven otherwise satisfactory.

With modern day high speed looms, a threading eye or block is needed which is simple of construction and efcient in operation and, at the same time, does not require an excessive number of picks to complete threading through the filling thread passageways within the threading eye.

According to the present invention, I have developed an improved threading eye or block which is simple of construction and very efcient in operation.

One object, therefore, of the present inventionA is to provide a shuttle of the self-threading type which may be satisfactorily used with diiierent type yarns.

A further object is to provide an improved shuttle eye block of the self-threading type having a wear resistant delivery eye so designed as to permit easy threading, but which retains the yarn, so that the yarn cannot escape forwardly from the block during the weaving operation.

A further object is to provide a shuttle eye block with means for preventing the yarn from escaping by ballooning and also from escaping by spinning in a forward direction from the delivery eye.

A still further object is to provide a shuttle threading block of simple, durable and inexpensive construction and so designed as to prevent accidental escape of the yarn from its threaded course between the bobbin tip and the eye.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent following the detailed description and with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plm view of a couentional weaving shuttle having the eye or threading block of the present invention embodied therein;

Figure 2 is a side view showing the. threading block in position;

Figure 3 is an end view of the threading block taken through the line 3-3 yof Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a similar view of the opposite end taken through the line 4 4 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings in more detail wherein like numerals indicate like parts in the diiierent views, Figure 1 shows a conventional weaving shuttle 6 having the filling carrier opening 8 with a lled bobbin I0 disposed thereon and a second opening 9 to receive the novel shuttle eye threading block of the present invention. This arrangement of parts is of conventional construction.

The improved shuttle eye threading block, generally indicated at I2, may be made of any of the usual materials, for example, brass or bronze, and by any usual operation, such as die casting, and is shaped to t into the threading chamber provided for its reception in the forward part of the shuttle body. As illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, the block has a transverse bore I4 to receive the bolt I6 by means of which the block is secured in place in the shuttle body.

The novel threading eye block which I have invented comprises a main or body portion I8 (Fig. 1) which is composed of the lower portion I9 (Fig. 3) and the top guide II, which is integral with the lower portion on one side but terminates short of contact on the other side to define an elongated narrow inlet 20. The inlet 20 Vopens into a thread passage 22 (Fig. 3) within the body portion. The top guide I I has a rounded smooth surface 2| on the portion facing the inlet 2S so as to cause the filling thread to be direeted to the thread passage 22. The lower portion I9 and the top guide II are dished at the end facing the lling carrier as seen at 24. The lower body portion I9 is also dished slightly at its opposite end as seen at 26, since the filling thread bears against this surface as it passes through the second thread passage. The top guide II has a cut out portion 23 in the end opposite from iill- 3 ing carrier I which forms the hook 25. This end of the top guide is of slightly less width than the bottom portion I3 so as to give a slightly coned configuration to the interior thread passage 22.

The top guide li acts to direct the thread to passage 22, and the hook 25 aids in retaining the thread in passage 22 when threaded and also provides a surface against which the filling thread may be discharged in case the lling thread does not pass beneath horn 30 during the rst several picks. Y

Integral with the main body portion I8 is the offset portion 28 from which the horn member 30 extends. The horn 30 is rounded on its upper surface and extends in a slightly curved path from the offset portion 28 with its tip portion 32 terminating adjacent the cut-away side portion 34 of the shuttle. The body portion, offset portion, and horn member are all seated in the openings 9 and 44 which are cut out in the shuttle so as to form complementary seats for these parts. Depending from beneath horn 30 is the finger or claw member 35 (Fig. 4) which has two forked hook members 38 and 40 integral therewith` The hooks 38 and 40 are curved downwardly and inwardly from the horn 30 and terminate adjacent the lower section I9 of the body portion I8. The two hook members are angularly disposed relative to each other so as to define a second thread passage 4I which intersects the rst passage substantially at right angles.

The under face of the horn 30 is cut away as seen at 42 (Fig. 2) so as to provide an inclined surface to lead the thread into the thread passages and out through the side delivery opening 44 in the side of the shuttle 6. The offset portion 28 is slightly dished at the point 31 just below where the horn 30 is joined to form a third thread passage l and also to provide a contact surface for the filling thread as the shuttle moves toward the right across the loom.

In operation the threading block of the present invention works as follows. When a new thread carrier is inserted in the recess within the shuttle body, the leading edge of the thread from the bobbin will be held at the side of the loom, while the shuttle makes its first pick. During the first pick thread 46 will be moved under the tip 32 of the horn 33 in which position it will be carried until the second pick is commenced, which pulls the filling thread 46 in the opposite direction causing the filling thread to slide rapidly down the inclined smooth undersurface 42 of horn 30 and over the top of the smooth curved surface of finger 38 at which point the thread 45 is pulled beneath the hook or claw members 38 and 40. The tip 32 of horn 30 acts as a thread directing means. As previously pointed. out, the undersurface 42 of horn 30 is shaped so as to lead the thread 4.6 out through the side delivery open.- ing 44 in contact with the dished portion 31 of the offset portion 28. When the third pick is commenced, the pull on filling thread 43 will be reversed causing the thread to ride against the metal pin or post 48 which is vertically secured forwardly of the side delivery passage. The fill-- ing thread 46 will be completely threaded through the passages of the threading eye or block i2 as shown in Figures 1 and 2 at this point.

It will be noted that by this arrangement a series of thread passages is provided leading from the body portion facing the carrier opening to lead the filling thread to the side delivery eye in the shuttle.

No contact post is needed on the reverse stroke of the shuttle, since the thread rides in groove 31 of the offset portion 28 from which horn 30 extends.

When in its fully threaded condition, which may be accomplished in two picks, no amount of ballooning or movement of the thread 46 will effect its removal from the thread passages of the threading block of the present invention. The hooks 38 and 40 are angularly disposed relative to each other and as has been pointed out are curved around the second thread passageway. These hook members are so disposed relative to each other and relative to the second thread passageway that even if filling thread 46 should escape from beneath one of these hooks, it would bear against the other hook and would not be removed from this passageway.

Hooks 38 and 40 are rounded and smooth, as are all of the other surfaces of my improved device which come in contact with the filling thread. This prevents unnecessary breakage resulting from the friction of the threads with the threading eye. This is of particular importance if the filling thread should become displaced from one or more of the passageways whereby any slightly sharpened surface would cause breakage with consequent stoppage of the loom under the high speed running conditions employed today.

The horn 38 has the tip portion 32 so shaped as to make the accidental displacement of thread 46 almost impossible even if the thread should escape from beneath hooks 38 and 40. As has been pointed out, the under side of horn 33 is designed so as to lead the thread down, over and around finger 36 and hooks 38 and 4U, and when in this position to provide a channel or passage- Way leading the thread out of the side delivery opening cut in the side of the shuttle body.

By means of this arrangement of parts a shuttle eye threading block is provided which is simply constructed and which is extremely efficient and reliable in operation representing a decided improvement over devices of this nature heretofore used.

I claim:

1. In an automatically threading shuttle having an opening to accommodate a filling carrier, an automatic threading block disposed forwardly of said filling carrier and having means to direct the filling thread to a series of thread passages within said block as the shuttle is moved across the loom, means on said -block to prevent unthreading once the filling thread has been posiltioned within said block, said means comprising a horn member integral with and extending forwardly of said block, a curved finger member depending from said horn member, an inturned hook on said finger terminating short of contact with the forward portion of said block, a second inturned hook on said finger angularly disposed relative to said first hook, said finger member defining a thread passage leading to a side delivery opening in said shuttle with said hooks acting to prevent displacement of the thread from said passage when in threaded position.

2. In an automatically threading shuttle having an opening to accommodate a filling carrier, an automatic threading block secured in one end of said shuttle, thread passages through said block, a horn to direct the thread into said passages as the shuttle moves across the loom, and a plurality of hook members on said horn and depending downwardly and inwardly therefrom toward said block to prevent accidental displacement of the thread from said thread passages.

3. In an automatically threading shuttle having an opening to accommodate a lling carrier, an automatic threading block secured in one end of said shuttle, said block comprising a body portion having a substantially longitudinal thread passage therethrough, one side of said body having a longitudinally extending transverse inlet communicating with said thread passage, said -body portion being dished at both ends thereof, a second thread receiving passage communicating with said rst passage to lead said thread to a side delivery opening in said shuttle, a horn member protruding from said body portion to direct said thread into said thread passages, and a series of hook members on said horn adjacent to and angularly disposed relative to each other to prevent said thread from accidental unthreading from said block when in threaded position.

4. A threader for automatically threading loom shuttles, said threader having a main body portion with a longitudinally extending thread passage therethrough, a thread directing top guide on said body portion disposed above said passage, a longitudinally extending opening positioned below said guide in said body portion ing said second thread passage, and an inclined,

surface on the bottom side of said horn to lead the thread from said second passage to a side delivery opening in the shuttle.

WILLIAM L. MCHARGUE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 966,487 Titus Aug. 9, 1910 1,772,012 OHara Aug. 5, 1930 2,257,968 Lepage Oct. 7, 1941 2,336,937 Kaufmann, Jr. Dec. 14, 1943 2,607,371 Wood Aug. 19, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 267,085 Italy Aug. 24, 1929 

